Preparing the Nursery
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Days 2 through 5 Preparing the Nursery |
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Genesis 1:6-23
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Following the first day everything God made was made by breaking up, or differentiating, what previously existed. Water was the first created substance, thus everything that came later was converted water. Note that light and water are among the most prominate symbols used throughout the Bible.
Second Day
:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
The most general way to think of the firmament, or expanse, is to think of the sky. We will see later that God placed the stars in the firmament and that the birds also flew in the firmament. So, the firmament is a continuum from our atmosphere to outer space. This is also called the first (of three) heaven.
God divided the water into two parts: below, which was for the sea, and above, which became the seed for the sun, moon & stars created later.
Third Day
:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear
At this time most of the water moves to one place, one ocean, and the rest is converted to the core and crust of the earth and dry land. Psalm 136 indicates subterranean water as well. This has been developed into what is called the 'Hydroplate Theory'. I think that the land/water surfaces areas were the reverse of what they are today. In other words there was more land surface area than water surface area, the opposite of today.
Also, because there was no organic material to break down, the first soil was simple beach sand, the most abundant mineral on the surface of the earth today. Think 'hydroponic garden' on a global scale. This vast amount of vegatation became the source of the coal deposits found all over the earth today.
Here the last of the three realms in which life will live are finished: sky, sea and land.
:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself
God caused the dry land (and presumably seas) to explode with plant-life, BEFORE there was a sun to shine on them. The creatures, created later, will find an earth abundantly full of vegatation to eat.
Here the most fundamental law of biology is established: all life reproduces 'after its kind'. This law allows for variation within limits from which 'speciation' happens. But one kind CANNOT become another kind. There are fixed barriers. By the way, speciation causes a shallowing of the gene pool and therefore successive species are genetically less fit than their ancestors. Increasing specialization means decreasing adaptibility.
Notice also that fruit trees and, therefore, flowers exist from the beginning. According to evolution, flowers are a receint development, appearing around the time of the dinosaur's extinction.
Forth Day
:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
This verse describes the purpose of the heavenly bodies: physical sources of light, signs and the demarcation of various time periods.
Fifth Day
:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Swimming creatures and flying creatures come into existance on this day. The swimming and flying dinosaurs fit here. Again these creatures reproduce after there own KIND. Over time variations appear but are still of the same kind.
Michael P. Hays, 4/2/11